The Watcher
by Starfire201
Summary: The past leaves its traces. And sometimes those traces return to haunt us. Shadows hold secrets of their own. Finitevus POV. Afterword to Guardian: Darkness Rising. Archieverse AU. Oneshot.


**AN: **Kind of an afterword to Guardian: Darkness Rising, but doesn't need to be seen that way. This is from Finitevus' POV after the Enerjak: Reborn incident and is an idea of what he may be up to. Some of his internal musings, if you will. This will more than likely be my last story in this universe for some time, perhaps for good. So to those who read, I hope you like.

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any character mentioned in this story.

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**The Watcher**

_Unknown location_:

So close.

I was so close to accomplishing my goal of cleansing the world of technology, that plague of our world which is slowly destroying it.

My pawn had nearly accomplished everything I set out for him, stripping the Dark Legion of their implants; transporting all remaining Echidna to the wasted isle of Albion; and, when Robotnik managed to capture him, escaped and leveled a large portion of Megalopolis. He had just a bit more to do before his usefulness ended, and I could destroy him, after which I would proclaim my rule in this new age.

But those fools stopped me.

That pathetic girlfriend of his, that irritating fire-ant Archimedes, and most of all, that pathetic, sentimental fool named Locke. The one who had opened the door to the new creation of Enerjak was in the end the only one who could stop him. Something that not even that arrogant fool Sonic could accomplish.

Much time I have spent pondering exactly where I went wrong since the moment I escaped from Knuckles' wrath. Here in this citadel in a zone I discovered, one no one on Mobius has ever seen or learned of, I sit and consider each event that took place during that last hour. I have since concluded that I neglected to take emotions and feelings into my equations as I created the hex spell to weave around the Master Emerald. Having no need of such weaknesses, I overlooked them, thereby leaving my plan open to failure.

Love, such a ridiculous emotion, and totally unnecessary. It weakens you considerably, and makes you wish to give up your life for another. Foolish. Dying to protect others only shows you are simply suicidal, and leaves those you protected open for attack at the moment of your death. Knuckles is certainly showing such signs of vulnerability. His feelings of guilt and trauma easily overtook his desire for revenge against me. Oh, certainly he still despises me and wishes to kill me in retaliation for what I did to him and caused his father to do, but that is nothing compared to his own guilt and self-hate. In time he may recover, but for now, he is weak. Something I plan to take full advantage of in the future. And besides, even if he should recover even slightly, I know he will never be able to kill me, no matter what he does. I laugh at that notion.

But Knuckles is not the only being I observe as I ponder my failure along with my plans for the future. No, I am not finished. In fact, I am far from finished and each individual I watch is playing a role, however unknown to them, in reaching my goal.

I observe and wait as Scourge plays his little games of monarchy and conquest. Watch and cackle over his dreams of grandeur. Little he knows his so-called allies are planning to overthrow him even as he gloats over his small triumphs.

I observe and wait as Robotnik plots out the next steps in his goals of destroying not only the Freedom Fighters, but the Hedgehog as well. He believes the Dark Legion will continue to be subservient to him. However, his arrogance led him to reveal his hand to Dimitri concerning the bombs in their new implants. I watch, laughing, knowing his arrogance will be his downfall.

The clashes that occur between Sonic and the council are amusing as well. Sonic's refusal to bow to authority is eventually going to cause deep rifts and sides will form between his supporters and the council's supporters. The prospect of civil war erupting is certainly interesting to me what with all its intriguing possibilities. In fact, I consider the prospect of civil war as an added bonus for my plans.

As I watch, they play into my hands continuously, ignorant of that fact and what is in store for them. Even in exile, I continue to plot for a technology-free Mobius. I have obtained powerful new allies in this zone. Allies more than willing to help me in reaching my goal. Once all parties on Mobius are sufficiently distracted, we will strike. Mobius' cleansing is not yet now for caution must be exercised, but I can afford to be patient. Time is no hindrance to me.

That is my final secret, one only I know. One that they will not learn until it is too late.

For there was one side effect of that backlash of Chaos energy. Only a few weeks passed before a dangerous accident I experienced as I sought out Robotnik forced me to a realization. I learned that the backlash had left me with the curse of immortality. My life-span will exceed my enemies' and they can never stop me.

So Knuckles can hope for his revenge even in his self-pity; Scourge, Robotnik, and the council can continue playing their pathetic games. When the smoke clears, I and my allies will stand alone and the dawn of a new world can finally begin. Our names will be hailed as saviors from the corruption of technology.

I can afford to wait.

I have all the time in the world.

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"_What is time to an immortal?", The Weird Sisters (__Gargoyles__, "Avalon part 2")_


End file.
